Police raided a meeting of opposition and reform groups at a church in Zimbabwe's capital last Thursday, arresting a bishop and four human rights activists, witnesses said. Bishop Trevor Manhanga was among those arrested. Also arrested at the Northside Community Church were human rights lawyer Brian Kagoro, university political scientist John Makumbe, activist John Stewart and a church worker.

Rebels controlling the north of Ivory Coast have been shuttling between West African capitals to rally support for their ultimatum to launch all-out war unless they are given seats in the government. Meanwhile, rebels in the western Ivorian city of Man, where human rights groups have found several mass graves and estimate that up to 12 000 people have died since September, claim that government troops had been responsible for most of the killings.

Police in Guinea-Bissau have detained five prominent opposition politicians - including a former prime minister. The arrests come as the country prepares for early elections on 20 April.

There is no constant flow of HIV/AIDS coverage in the international media and there is an element of "new racism" in existing coverage that presents the epidemic as a black disease, leading to the neglect of the disease in other parts of the world.

Separatists in Angola's northern Cabinda province on Tuesday confirmed reports there have been "exploratory" talks with the government over the future of the oil-rich enclave.

Tens of thousands of Eritreans are reapplying for refugee status in Sudan, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Controversy has erupted over President Levy Mwanawasa's decision to appoint key opposition members of parliament (MPs) to his cabinet, a move that critics say is a breach of Zambian law and designed to weaken his opponents.

Refugees International (RI) is to send a mission to West Africa to identify humanitarian assistance and protection needs of Ivoirian refugees, Liberian refugees, and nationals of other countries displaced by conflict in Cote d'Ivoire, RI reported on Monday.

After almost a decade in exile, two of Burundi's key rebel leaders are due to return to the country following the signing of the ceasefire agreement last year. Analysts say this will help the peace process in Burundi.

The Zimbabwe National Student’s Union fight for peace and human rights in Zimbabwe has received international recognition. The organisation has been awarded the Student Peace Prize 2003 by the International Student Festival in Trondheim. The ISFiT awards the Peace Price once every two years to a student or a student organisation that has made a particular effort for democracy and human rights.

Police in Bindura have arrested Itai Masotcha Zimunya, the Zimbabwe National Student’s Union vice president. He was arrested in Bindura where he had gone to organise for mass action.

UK International Development minister Clare Short has warned the oil industry there is the risk of more Brent Spar-style consumer boycotts if companies fail to join a global drive to stamp out corruption in the developing world by disclosing the payments they make to governments. Oil companies are meeting in London this week to discuss a British plan intended to promote more transparency in the industry.

On the eve of the anniversary of the entry into force of an international treaty banning child soldiers, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers warned that the problem of child soldiers, far from being solved, is still prevalent. "Child soldiers continue to be abused as foot soldiers, porters, look-outs and sexual slaves - the problem is not decreasing but, with each new conflict, children are at risk of being drawn into the fighting," said Casey Kelso, Coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

Over the last 40 years, the United States has bombed Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, and Yugoslavia. Millions worldwide will take to the streets on Saturday, February 15, 2003 in a coordinated anti-war protest to stop the next bombing: a planned war against Iraq. Read commentaries from Ali, Chomsky, Fisk, Monbiot and others by clicking on the links provided or browse through the selected background links, documents, news articles, web sites and poetry, before adding your name to any one or all of a number of petitions against the war.

A major human tragedy is in the making in the Liberian capital Monrovia, where thousands are seeking refuge after fleeing the conflict between government and rebel forces.

Uganda has agreed to withdraw its troops from Ituri Province, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is after the United Nations warned that Uganda and Rwanda had begun fresh deployments of troops near Bunia, in Ituri Province, despite pulling out most of their soldiers late last year under a peace agreement.

Hundreds of foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers, were beaten and jailed during two nights of racially-motivated arrests in Cairo, Human Rights Watch says. The threat of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and racially-based harassment continues to hang over many asylum-seekers and refugees in Egypt, says the organisation.

An offensive by government-backed southern militias in the Western Upper Nile oilfields of southern Sudan during the first month of 2003 presented the gravest threat to the peace process since its revitalisation in mid-2002. A strengthened cessation of hostilities agreement was eventually signed on 4 February and a memorandum of understanding codifying points of agreement on outstanding issues of power and wealth sharing was signed two days later. However the fighting raises serious questions about the government's commitment to peace, says the International Crisis Group.

Islamic sharia law is making inroads into the predominantly Christian south of Nigeria at a time when religion is expected to be a crucial issue in looming general elections.

More than one million people in Zimbabwe's urban areas are facing starvation as the food situation in the country continues to deteriorate. This brings to seven million the number of people in need of humanitarian aid according to the latest United Nations food situation report.